Regulation Of Park Rides A Step Closer

The state's Amusement Ride Safety Board has taken its first steps to begin regulating rides at amusement parks, county fairs and carnivals throughout Pennsylvania.

Meeting for the first time last week, the board spent Wednesday and Thursday reviewing, line by line, 59 pages of regulations proposed by the staff of the Agriculture Department.

The board was established under a new state law that was passed after eight teen-agers died in a fire at the Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park in New Jersey last May.

The board made numerous changes in the draft of the regulations. Most of the changes dealt with technical matters, such as specifications for wiring and lights, or deletions to avoid duplications.

The board will meet on March 20 to review a final draft before the process of implementing the regulations begins. The regulations will be published and open to public comment. Various state agencies will also review them before they can be implemented.

There was only one section of the draft regulations, members of the board said, that seemed to be overlyunfair or unreasonably burdensome.

That section imposed a yearly $25 fee per ride for registration of amusement rides covered by the law and a $100 fee for persons taking the inspectors examination. Renewal of the inspector's certification would cost $50.

"We are doing all the inspections, and duplicating the forms. What are we paying for?" asked board member Robert Ott, who is president of Dorney Park.

Michael McGovern, the deputy secretary of agriculture who is overseeing the inspection program, said the department will take the board's concern over fees under advisement. But McGovern said the department clearly has the legal right to impose fees to pay for the costs of the program.

Under the new law, all rides in permanent amusement parks, such as Dorney Park, would be inspected monthly. Rides that are transported from place to place, for fairs and carnivals, must be inspected each time they are set up.

The regulations will incorporate standards set by the American Society for Testing Materials and the Outdoor Amusement Business Association. Both groups have been working for standardized safety rules in the industry.

Ott, who is chairman of the safety committee of the International Association of Amusement Park Attractions, said the new rules won't have much effect on the majority of parks.

He said Dorney Park inspects its rides daily, as do most amusement parks in the state. The regulations will standardize the procedures, he said.